TEACHER AS REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER

A.Reflecting and Targeting

Reflection is central part of what is means to be a
professional teacher. In fact it is a central part of learning
anything, and applies just as much to our children learning
english as it does to us learning how to teach them. Neither the
children’s ability in english nor or ability to teach will develop
to its full petential unless we have chances to step back and
reflect. It sometimes helps to look at our teaching as a kind of
experiment that we need to monitor, assess, and rethink. This
applies to all aspects of our teaching and our attitudes towards
the children, not simply to the particular techniques we use.
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Teachers often talk about difficult children, the problems

with the curriculum, and the need for new eguipment or the size of
the class. All of these issues are important, and we should certainly
look actively for ways to make improvements in these areas , at least
when it is feasible. However, the success or failure of our lessons
depends far more on us, and how we adapt to each teaching situation
we find ourselves in, than on whether we have problems children or
whether or not the class is too large.

It can help to set ourselves targets, work out step-by- step

strategies for achieving these targets, and reflect on how we are
doing along the way. If things are not going so well, it may simply
be that the targets are unrealistic or the steps are too big, or we may
need to take a deeper look at our teaching style. Possible targets
include:
 Steps strategies for achieving these targets to
teach

1. A lesson plan

2. A target quantity of new vocabulary to be learned within

a specific period of time

3. A finishing date for a coursebook

4. Getting the children onto a graded reader scheme

5. An increase in the amount of English spoken the lesson

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6. A reduction in the number of questions we ask and an increase in the

number the children ask

7. An improvement in the behaviour of a particular child

8. A change in our own attitude to a child we do not like

9. Getting the children to do homework regulary

 Some other way to get a support in teach

1. Encouraged positive dialog about classes with colleagues

2. Form a study group with other teachers

3. Read books about teaching, ideas and educational psychology

(see number reading, page 215. for a list of recommended reading)

4. Read magazines and journalis for English teachers

5. Observe other teachers and be abserved by them

6. Attend workshop, conference or training courses about

teach

7. Join an online discussion group for english teachers

 B. Assumptions about how to teach

Every time we open our mouths in a lesson, every time we move, every time
we give instructions, every time we play a game with the children. Whatever we do
in a lesson, we are making all kinds of assumptions about how we should teach.
We should definitely question the current fashions in English language teaching
around the world. Many ideas that come from Europa or north America starts from
the assumption that children use the roman alphabet in their native language and have
more E nglish around them outside class. Probably the most difficult but important
things to question are the standard techniques we take for granted when teaching.
When analyzing assumptions, we may need to consider the social practices and values
and the view of power in the classroom that an approach to teaching embodies, to look
at where a particular method amy have originated and what conditions prevailed in
that situation. But most of all, we need to examine our assumptions about how
children learn most effectively. There are various conflicting view on how children
learn, some of which have labels such as behaviours, humanistic, or constructivist. We
need to study the alternatives, focusing on the assumptions the various theories make,
reach our own conclussion about how children learn, and teach in a way that is
consistent with these conclusions.